Bride & Prejudice

I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this film at first. Both the title and the DVD box image are rather cheesy - but then I saw the trailer, and it convinced me that this would indeed be something worth watching. Thank goodness for that trailer because I absolutely adored this movie. Bride and Prejudice introduced me to a whole new world of cinematic magic. It's an explosion of vibrant colors, exotic settings, incredible music and dancing, and genuine pleasure. The story itself, combining romance, drama, as well as comedy, was also a treat in its own right. If you haven't guessed by the title, this film was inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - and I hope Austen enthusiasts will give this film a try, despite whatever misgivings they must surely have about it. I prefer to judge the film on its own merits, and I can't find anything not to like here. It's just exquisite. The film is primarily set in India. Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) has come with his friend Balraj (Lost's Naveen Andrews) to attend a wedding - and what a wedding it is. The whole town is in full celebration mode, and the song and dance numbers that come spinning at you in kaleidoscope fashion entrance you with their beauty and grace. Darcy is immediately taken with a gorgeous young lady named Lalita Bakshi (Aishwarya Rai), who just happens to be the sister of Balraj's object of affection. She comes from a family full of girls and a mother working tirelessly to find husbands for her older daughters - hopefully rich ones. Darcy and Lalita, despite a lot of meaningful eye contact, don't exactly hit it off, but that's largely Darcy's fault. Henderson really isn't very charismatic in the role, and he's not all that eloquent either. Lalita finds him to be a rude, arrogant American who looks down on her and everyone else in India. Darcy's also a bit of a wimp, seemingly incapable of standing up to his domineering mother's influence. She would never approve of an India-born daughter-in-law, of course - but Mrs. Bakshi wouldn't necessarily leap for joy at an American son-in-law, either (no matter how rich he is - and Darcy is filthy rich). Darcy does get to spend a little time with Lalita (but not because she wants to), but then an acquaintance of his shows up in the form of Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gillies) - why the son of Darcy's nanny suddenly shows up there in India is a complete mystery to me, though. Wickham's no good, but the ever-ineffectual Darcy won't tell Lalita why. As for Lalita, she has to fend off a new suitor in the form of an incredibly annoying fellow who has come back from America seeking a bride. It looks like Darcy and Lalita just weren't meant to be, as he returns to London and Lalita finds herself having to fend off a new suitor in the form of an incredibly annoying fellow who has come back from America seeking a bride. The world's a small place, though, and fate brings Darcy and Lalita together again in Los Angeles (where the Bakshi family has come to attend another wedding). The romance is quite predictable, but it does take interesting twists and turns along the way. I found it pretty compelling, but in many ways the love story is just the excuse to put on an awe-inspiring spectacle of music, dance, and incredible entertainment. I can't adequately describe the lavish nature of this film, except to say that it is a visual and auditory treat. I haven't had this much fun watching a film in a long time. Singing and dancing can start at the drop of a hat, and as often as not it doesn't end until the entire village has joined the fun. Lalita and her sisters are just wonderful, adorable characters (even the one who does the rather unforgettable Cobra Dance) - and Aishwarya Rai, the true star of this film, shines like the heavens on a dark night. I'll eagerly watch any movie she appears in. You won't have to worry about nodding off in the middle of this one - as Bride and Prejudice has the contagious energy to revive even the weariest of souls. Hollywood just doesn't make films like this; until you see this Bride and Prejudice, you probably won't even know what you're missing.

Gurinder Chadha produces a fantastic film with a new twist to the classical conundrum: how does an independent minded female connect with the opposite sex? Jane Austen could never in her wildest dreams imagine the outstanding Bollywood like dance and music numbers which make this film such a delightful viewing experience. Ashanti does a magical song and dance called "Take Me to Love." The Bakshi sisters sing and express appropriate sentiment in "No Life without Wife" which is a delightful song mocking the awkward attempts by Mr. Kholi, an accountant of Indian background who lives near Hollywood, who returned to Amritsar, India to find himself a wife. Despite his obvious material successes in the USA, which he keeps pointing out to the Bakshi family, he can not connect socially with the right kind of female who appreciates his hard work and who possesses the cultural traits which he is seeking in a wife ... Mrs Bakshi is over-joyed to present and introduce her daughters to him. She wishes to marry her daughters off, one after the other to socially prominent, wealthy successful men, with the goal of climbing to a higher social class. The humorous lyrics of the song and amusing delivery by the Bakshi sisters captures the mood and feeling of the film. Nor could Jane Austen envision the beautiful Lalita played by one of India's most gorgeous and popular actresses, Aishwarya Rai. Mrs Bakshi plays a well meaning but scheming mother whose main concern is marrying off each of her four daughters to wealthy but worthy gentlemen of suitable families. Mr. Bakshi is a devoted and doting father who worked hard to build his business into a success. It provides his family a comfortable middle class lifestyle, nonetheless it still leaves his wife trying to improve upon the social status of her daughters through suitable marriage matches ... Lalita is the most beautiful and outspoken of the four girls in the Bakshi family. She is pleased her older sister Jaya met a barrister from London, who is of Indian background, whose busy lifestyle prevented him from meeting eligible female companions. He obviously fell head over heels in love with the lovely and quiet Jaya, after returning to Amritsar for exactly the purpose of finding a wife. His sister came along on the trip as did a wealthy American friend whose family is in the hotel business. The American friend, Will Darcy is captivated by the beauty, quick mind and outspoken nature of Lalita. She assertively voices her opinions which is not a trait held in high esteem by most eligible handsome wealthy bachelors. Will discovers Lalita is intriguing and attractive yet is put off by her outspokenness. He occassionally finds himself on the defensive when conversing with her but in the end her ideas cause him to ponder and question his personal values ... and also the ethical motives behind business deals. Lalita also discovers to her chagrin she is attracted to Will who is a handsome, worthy and intelligent opponent ... At social gatherings they manage to magnetize and repel each other with their heated debates about social and cultural values and differences. To Lalita's surprise, one of her best friends agrees to an arranged marriage to Mr. Kholi ... The Bakshi family is sent an invitaton to the wedding along with economy class airline tickets to attend the ceremony in America. The wedding takes place on the grounds of the magnificent hotel owned by Will Darcy's family. Will takes Lalita on a whirlwind tour of California and the Southwest. She sees a different side to Will Darcy, one she never knew existed. She falls in love with him but then overhears someone whisper how something Will had said to his Indian barrister friend caused the break up of his romance with her sister Jaya ... Lalita is broken hearted and devasted. She confronts Will. He admits the break-up was his fault. The reader must view the film to discover how these two people of such vastly different backgrounds make peace and rekindle their romance and love. In the end it burns brighter than ever. The film is filled with passion, energy, romance, class differences, cultural clashes and to the viewer's immense satisfaciton, a happy ending. It is a colorful pageantry of the sights, sounds, and music of India in the best Bollywood tradition. A most hightly recommended film. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

This movie is not really a true adaptation of the original "Pride and Prejudice" by Austen. The protagonists dont possess any of the qualities and personality traits exemplified in Austen's novel or seen in many good movie adaptations of the same. Martin Henderson, (Darcy's character), while handsome, felt more like a fixture in the room, detached from everything happening to him, reciting the worst, most insipid lines ever - which in turn did not make him very interesting and enticing like the original Darcy. He does the best he can with what he is given though. I read somewhere that Henderson was primarily chosen for his looks. Aishwarya Rai's character, Lalita, was not very likable. While very beautiful of course, she seemed snide, arrogant, and rude, which in turn painted her in an unsympathetic light. The character she is based on in the original "Pride and Prejudice" is a charming, quick witted and intelligent young lady instead of conceited and snide. She also behaved as if everyone owed her and was totally beneath her and she was merely tolerating them. This makes it hard for Dacry and Lalita to establish any kind of worthwhile chemistry or believable affection. All this is compounded, of course, by the fact that there wasnt much dialog and interaction between the two. No passionate exchanges, no intelligent conversation, none of that. Most of their exchanges consist of passing longing looks at each other across the room or she being offended about everything he says - even before he opens his mouth. When he then does the whole obligatory falling in love with her, it is just not very believable and convincing. The same is true for all characters really: they all just fall in love with each other or do things that are somewhat unsupported by their actions and even words. It gnaws on the believability of a movie and its characters and then ultimately determines its quality when people spontaneously exhibit feelings without any prelude. I also find Rai's "virgin Mary" routine annoying and tiresome. The fact that they never even exchange a kiss made this movie lack something - like the spice that is otherwise sprinkled all over. It could certainly have been done in a tasteful way so it is not offensive to Ms. Rai. I can understand that she doesnt want to film any steamy love scenes or even rumbling around in bed, but they could have kissed at least once and actually I have seen that happen in many Bollywood productions - even with her in it - so it is not like it is unheard of. The "Pride and Prejudice" movie with Keira Knightley has, in my opinion, one of the best on-screen kisses (in the end) ever: very tasteful and romantic. Too bad it is missing in this movie. Finally, it is strange to look at how most of the female characters were cast. Lalita is gorgeous and stands out among her sisters who all seem kind of bland and not very attractive - at least not compared to Lalita. In fact, they are caricatures and stereotypes of sorts and Lalita clearly stands out as the most sophisticated, intelligent, beautiful ingénue among them. That makes for predictability because of course Darcy falls in love with her. What else would he do? She is the most gorgeous woman in that village, if not nation. Aishwarya Rai was/is clearly the mega star and it appears as if all the other female leads were cast deliberately so as to not compete with and thus undermine Rai's presence. This movie is almost like a homage to her more than anything else. All that said, however, I must admit that I personally dont hold this movie to Austen's standards. It stands on its own merits and the "Pride and Prejudice" storyline seems to have been used in a very rudimentary way to make room for what the director really wanted to accomplish. This movie is a perfect mix between Bollywood and Hollywood. It is joyful, colorful and happy with a great ensemble and great photography. Despite some missing dialog and depth, Henderson and Rai have still chemistry which would have been sizzling if they actually did talk to each other more and she wasnt so reserved. I like Gurinder Chadha's style of mixing the cheerful and colorful and traditional with the modern - with added social commentary and comedy, but without it looking like she was pushing for some political message and drama. Life's too short to try to be too serious and the story in a well made movie like this is secondary. As Roger Ebert once said, "a good movie is not what it's about, it's HOW it is about it." This movie hit the nail on the head in terms of the how.

My sister rented this movie from the library many years ago & I fell in love with it. I love "happily ever after" movies. I'd been looking for this movie for ages (ok, years😊). I kept my eyes open for it whenever I went to book (new & used) or movie stores. I searched online for it now & then to no avail. I couldn't find it anywhere. My 15 year old daughter really likes this movie, too. In fact, it came in the mail early in the week but my daughter didn't want me to watch it until we could watch it together (which wouldn't have been until the weekend). I waited to watch it with her but it wasn't easy 😀. I don't usually write reviews about anything, but the story line, the costumes, the music, the colors are worth it. Did I mention that it's a "clean" movie that's safe for all ages? No violence. No swearing. No nudity or sexual undertones. Not even kissing. Just clean entertainment.

This movie is very entertaining. I watched it again after having it for many years. The mother had me laughing at loud. I thought she was terrific in the role. Lalita is beautiful, smart and caring. I thought the acting by Martin Henderson was good; his expressions showed his love for Lalita. He was easy to read. I thought the girl who played Lucky was excellent. Loved the music.

Let's say right up front that Bride & Prejudice was never meant to be an "authentic step by step translation". It was meant to be a fun musical, with a ton of gorgeous Indian color, with the general theme of a famous book. I'll be doing this review from this point of view. It's silly to argue that "Darcy should have been more X to match the book" or that "Lizzie shouldn't speak with slang". It's the themes that matter - not the exact specifics. The movie is interested because it was deliberately set up to appeal equally to English-speaking audiences as well as Indian natives. In fact, the first song is done completely in Indian. 99% of the actors and actresses are Indian. In fact, some scenes are very strongly pro-Indian and anti-West. But we'll get to that in a moment. Darcy is a US friend of Balraj (Bingley), an Indian guy returned to India for a wedding. England/US is set up as the "elegant cultured" high class society of the book, while the small Indian town is set up as the "back water sludge" of Lalita's (Lizzie's) hometown. At the party, Darcy very clearly is "uncomfortable" with the culture he didn't understand - NOT "snobbish" and considering himself above it. He didn't know how to do the dances. In the book, the point was that he DID know how to (very well) but considered himself above it. Two seconds later we have another song, where the whole town demands more weddings to have fun. At this point I have to comment that with the VERY long musical numbers in an under-2-hour movie, it cuts down on the minutes you can have character development. Some musicals - like Chicago and Grease - have musical numbers that are incredibly important to the story and do amazing jobs of filling out a character's personality. These numbers here have color and glitz but pretty much no "story meaning". I really wish they could have made the musical numbers more integral to the movie itself. Next comes one of the scenes I liked the least. After the wedding, Darcy comes up to talk to Lizzie. He mentions the problem's he's having at the hotel. She gets snappy and lures him into an argument by asking him questions and then arguing with his truthful responses. He dislikes arranged marriages. She pushes him and he agrees that it was the groom's choice. So she fights with that too! Then she kicks up the fight to say all Americans are arrogant. She doesn't come across as intelligent. She comes across as incredibly grumpy. On to the beach. Caroline teases Lalita about reading a big book and Lalita is nasty back about Caroline's make-up. When Caroline makes a dig about Lalita being accomplished, Lalita says proudly, "Maybe." She then jumps on Darcy as being an Imperialist, because anybody who builds a hotel here is obviously harming the local economy with such an action. Darcy tries to talk to her and she refuses. In the book the main message is that Darcy stands back because of pride. Lizzie is genuinely nice, and even when she criticizes she does it with a smile. We don't get that at ALL here. Here, Darcy tries to fit in when he can and stands back when he's unsure what to do. Lizzie is downright nasty. I have to wonder just why Darcy keeps trying. Wickham doesn't come across as 'bad' at all - if anything, Lucky chases him down and he reluctantly gives in. The Collins character isn't obsequious or hung up on the pride of working for another - he's made his own way and is lonely. I realize of course this is a fun musical version. However, it seems like they made ALL characters much blander. I admit that I feel very attached to the "Lizzie" character so to see her turned into a nasty grump really upset me. I normally love the Darcy character so to have him such a wimpy non-charismatic man didn't appeal to me. Wickham lost his "edge". Collins lost his "sleaze". I watched the movie several times to see if it'd grow on me. I adored the colors, dances and gorgeous Indian scenery - but I still just didn't connect with any characters in the story. It's great eye candy, but the powerful story of human beings got lost somewhere in the translation.

Absolutely adore this movie! Showed it to a friend and she loved it too! All the music and colors and dancing!

I love this movie! If you want to sit down, be entertained, and end up with a smile on your face, then watch Bride and Prejudice. Is it the A&E version? No, but it is an excellent updated and different take of my all time favorite book. Aishwarya Rai as Lalita Bakshi (Elizabeth Bennet) and Martin Henderson as Will Darcy (Fitzwilliam Darcy) are fantastic and have great chemistry together. The supporting cast is wonderful. The songs fit and do not detract from the story. I just wish Chadha had left in the song "Arrogance, Pride, & Vanity." It's on the British DVD, but not the US one. The colors used in the film are breathtaking (not dark like so many movies today). This is a very bright, vibrant, witty, and feel good movie. Gurinder Chadha had me walking out of the theatre with a smile on my face, then ordering the movie and soundtrack ASAP!

I would like to apologize for my last post on this movie. I do love it.

Great DVD

Update to my original post: The seller has contacted me about the poor quality of the movie as I reported below and has resolved the issue very promptly and to my satisfaction. I still rate the movie itself poorly but I rate the seller’s customer service as 5/5. Original post: The movie runs okay until around the middle of the movie, then it pauses and skips on it’s own and then get stuck in a loop that repeats the paused/skipped sections multiple times. To get past this I have to manually select the next following section. This happened in 4 places in the DVD. I know the DVD was advertised as Used/Good Condition and accordingly came unsealed, but I was expecting a better quality than what I got. Very disappointing.